Indiana native nominated for best bluegrass album Grammy

Updated 4:34 am, Thursday, December 7, 2017

HENRYVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana native who was born blind has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Bluegrass Album category.

Michael Cleveland was nominated Tuesday by the Recording Academy for his album "Fiddler's Dream."

The Henryville, Indiana, native has studio musician credits on previous Grammy-winning and -nominated works, but this is his first direct nomination. The Grammy winners will be announced Jan. 28.

The News and Tribune reports Cleveland was born blind and attended the Louisville School for the Blind. He told the newspaper in 2015 that his blindness accounts for some of his fiddling talent because, "Your ears are the most important thing when you're learning to play."

He said instructors tell students not to look at the fiddle's neck and fingerboard, and to play in the dark.